NORTON PARISH COUNCIL

NORTON PARISH COUNCIL Date: Tuesday 21 st February 2017 Time: 19.30 Venue: Norton Village Hall : Richard Oliver Minute Minutes Action Record Attendance, Apologies, Absence. Council Attendance: Cllr K Russell Chairman Cllr M Goodman Vice-Chairman Cllr C Thomas Cllr S Mason Cllr J Paybody Cllr C Child Invitees Public 17.02.019 Acceptance of Apologies Cllr J Amos, Cllr A Brown, Cllr A Hills. Cllr Goulden. Cllr R Macanndrais-no apologies received 17.02.020 Declaration and Nature of Interests in matters on the Agenda 17.02.021 Consideration for any requests for dispensation 17.02.022 Open Section For a duration of 15 minutes with the permission of the chairman members of the public may speak for 3 minutes: NCC Representative DDC Representative Members of the Public No invited councillors or members of the public were present. 17.02.023 Approve minutes of meeting held on 17 th January 2017 The minutes were amended to include Cllr Paybody s name and then approved. Proposed Cllr Goodman 2 nd Cllr Thomas All in favour of those present at the meeting 17.02.024 Actions from Previous Minutes (not covered on agenda and for report only) Cllr Russell confirmed that Roger Hepton is happy to continue doing the troughs. The confirmed the form for the Community Enhancement Gang work had been returned to Daventry DC and also confirmed the 2017-18 Precept form had been returned to Daventry DC. PLANNING 17.02.025 DA/2017/0128 Old Dairy Site and adjacent Paddock, Weedon Lane, Norton - Outline Planning application for residential development. Councillors to discuss (subject to approved paperwork being available on DDC website in time for meeting) The councillors were unable to consider this as Daventry DC had not finalised their checks and the paperwork was not available from them. The councillors thought an extraordinary meeting may be necessary dependent on when the official paperwork became available. 42

HIGHWAYS 17.02.026 Highways update from Cllr Macanndrais As Cllr Macanndrais was absent no update was available from him. 17.02.027 Footways-Update from Cllrs Russell & Goodman following meeting with Ian Smith Kier WSP Cllrs Russell and Goodman and the Parish had met Ian Smith from Kier WSP on 7 February to walk the village to inspect the footways (paths). They reported this had been a useful meeting but although Mr Smith was sympathetic to the councillors requests for footways improvement he informed he had very limited and continually decreasing funds to carry out repairs and had to make difficult decisions when prioritising work schedules. He gave contact names at Kier who may be able to help with Cycle / footway funding and the was asked to contact Ian Boyes to investigate. The area where the BT phone box is located will change when BT removes the box. Mr Smith thought they would break up the concrete base and it was also noted that a concrete fence post had been left lying nearby. The was asked to write to the owner from whose garden it came to ask them to remove it. Mr Smith also said that regular weeding was shown as being done on his reports. However Cllrs Russell and Goodman had never seen any weeding actually carried out by Kier operatives. 17.02.028 Dog Waste Bins Update from the The advised he had two costs for a 25 ltr bin. One for 86.52 and the other of 126.69 inc post. He was also advised by Daventry DC that a cost of 69 per annum per bin should be charged by Enterprise for emptying and attaching new bin liners. However other parishes had said they had not been charged so it was unclear if a charge would be applied or not. After discussion the councillors agreed by a majority vote to install 3 bins However before purchasing the was asked to check if it was acceptable to put a notice on standard litter bins that they could also be used for dog waste as some parishioners may not realise this was allowed. 17.02.029 Streetlights upgrade bracket removal and new column installations. Report on joint site visit with Aylesbury Mains and Western Power. Councillors to consider parishioner feedback on test lanterns and agree next actions and funding plan. Cllr Goodman and the Parish had walked the village with 2 contractors. Cllr Goodman thought the visit worthwhile especially having the 2 contractors there at the same time. The current orange lights have to be replaced as they are inefficient and will soon stop being available. Installation of new lights will also reduce energy costs. Indicative prices received so far showed a cost of replacing all lights and removal of brackets from houses and resiting with new lighting columns would be approx 10.5k. An option to just replace lights was approx 8k. The cost of the electrical connection work for resiting from Western Power was 11.2k (payable upfront) If a new column was installed in Weedon Lane this would cost between 3.5k and 6k depending on the routing used as new trench would need to be dug for cabling and additional costs for traffic management would also be required. The advised he would seek costs from other suppliers for comparison. Cllr Goodman felt that the upgrade might be better handled in 2 phases; phase 1 would be to replace all the lights with the newer lanterns in their present location and phase 2 would cover any resiting. He also suggested as an alternative an additional column might be considered near the 30mph flash sign at the junction of Weedon Lane / Daventry Road to avoid an expensive installation of another column in Weedon Lane itself. Cllr Russell advised a parishioner felt the light in Weedon Lane was too bright but there had been no substantive adverse comments from others so far. Cllr Russell also felt that the lantern at the Old Chapel may not need to be replaced. The would bring further information to the next meeting. 43

17.02.030 DDC suggestion for Parish Councils to take over litter picking contract. Councillors to discuss and agree response. After discussion the councillors decided not to express an interest in this proposal. Proposed Cllr Russell 2 nd Cllr Goodman All in favour. The was asked to find out when the next litter pick from the Daventry Golf Club to Norton village was scheduled. 17.02.031 Grass mowing 2017. Councillors to discuss and agree contract for 2017. Cllr Goodman proposed that Stephen Hartwell mowing continue with the contract for 2017 The advised that the contractor would maintain their 2016 prices with no increase for 2017. Councillors agreed to continue with Stephen Hartwell Mowing Services for 2017. Proposed Cllr Goodman 2 nd Cllr Russell All in favour. NORTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 17.02.032 NNAP Steering Group Update by Cllr Child - Councillors to discuss project timescale and government grants for plan for financial year 2017-18 and receive written report update. Cllr Child presented a written report including costs from Landmark Planning. The Steering Group are using a plan developed by Onley as a template from which to develop one specific to Norton and expected to have a draft by the summer 2017. Anne Cooper had been appointed to manage the finances for the group. Cllr Child also advised that the 5k in earmarked funds for 2017-18 set aside by the council would not now be needed as she expected the costs to be covered by grants and project manager expertise within the Steering Group. Cllr Child advised that the topic of the village envelope had been raised and needed clarification so that the correct area could be defined and included in the Neighbourhood Plan. The was asked to contact Richard Wood / Tom James at Daventry DC for clarification of how the village envelope is calculated. Cllr Russell asked that a written draft be presented to the council as it is available. Cllr Russell noted that the more recent Steering Group agendas and minutes were not showing on the website. Cllr Mason advised he had not received any to upload. Cllr Child said she would chase to ensure they were forwarded to Cllr Mason for upload as information on the website formed an important part of the audit when the Neighbourhood Plan is scrutinised. 17.02.033 Gouldens View: Councillors to consider letter from Mrs Yates on further development After discussion the councillors this letter should be referred to the Norton Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group to note as they progressed with the development of the plan. The to inform Mrs Yates by letter of this decision. 17.02.034 Longleat update from the on current position. Councillors to agree actions. The advised Longleat had been in contact for a progress update. It was agreed that Cllr Paybody would meet with the as soon as possible to draft a Heads of Terms. GOVERNANCE /Cllr Paybody 17.02.035 Policy review of A) Code of Conduct B) Complaints C) Disability Discrimination D) Equal opportunities, E) Financial & Management Risk assessment F) Financial Control and Internal Audit G) Freedom of Information H) Internal Audit terms of Reference. Councillors to consider and agree. Cllr Child advised an error on the FOI policy which the was asked to amend. All documents were then approved. Proposed Cllr Russell 2 nd Cllr Goodman All in favour 17.02.036 Website. Councillors to review in readiness for year-end audit. The advised that the website needs to be up to date in time for the audit and if councillors noted any out-of-date information or rectifications needed to advise him of the changes needed. JACKS PATCH 17.02.037 Update on repair issues raised after inspection by Wicksteed and NVCA 44

The advised that Admiral Play (the installer) had been in discussion with Sovereign (the manufacturer) and were prepared to make all the necessary changes to the unit to bring it into line with current specifications. Admiral Play also confirmed the unit was concreted into the ground. The had requested confirmation from Admiral Play that no cost would accrue to the Parish Council but he and Cllr Goodman believed that from the emails received Admiral Play would do the work and absorb the cost. FINANCE 17.02.038 Bank at 30 Jan 2017 Current 5,358.37 + Deposit 17,044.03 = 22,322.40 For information. Councillors noted the figures. 17.02.039 VAT reclaim 969.53 received. Councillors to note. Councillors noted this reclaim. 17.02.040 Internet banking authorisers. Update from Councillors Mason, Thomas, Paybody and Goulden. Cllrs Mason, Paybody, and Thomas confirmed they had completed the process with Unity Trust Bank and were now able to authorise payments on the internet. Cllrs Russell and Goodman are already confirmed internet authorisers. 17.02.041 Internal audit for year 2017-18 will be 19 April 2017. Councillors to note. Councillors noted the date 17.02.042 Daventry CAB Further donation request of 250.00. Councillors to discuss. The and Cllr Russell advised a donation had been made to this organisation in late 2016. Councillor agreed the organisation does good work. The was asked in the first instance to contact Daventry CAB to see if the receipt of the donation and this letter from them had crossed. 17.02.043 Approve payments below. Cheques to be signed at the end of the meeting or payment by internet banking within 24 hours of meeting All payments were authorised. Proposed Cllr Russell 2 nd Cllr Goodman All in favour.. Cheque No. Amount Total VAT Amount w/o VAT Payee Description Internet 72.00 12.00 60.00 Wicksteed Playgrounds Inspection fee Internet 6.60 5.50 1.10 CVS Payroll fees Internet 358.40 0.00 358.40 Richard Oliver Salary Internet 32.60 0.00 32.60 HMRC PAYE Internet 54.00 9.00 45.00 Aylesbury mains 3 x Test Lanterns trial Internet 245.00 0.00 245.00 NVCA Hall hire Total 768.60 17.02.044 Annual Parish Meeting Councillors to note date. Cllr Russell advised the date would be 11 April 2017. Councillors noted this date. 17.02.045 Raise matters for report only Traffic Cllr Goodman asked if the Traffic Count information had been analysed and Cllr Russell advised that it had not been completed yet. Broadband Cllr Russell advised that having checked the Superfast website Norton was not showing either in Phase 2 or 3 as promised by BT when she met them in 2016. The contacted Chris Heaton-Harris MP and BT to question why and the response was that Superfast Broadband Northamptonshire had awarded the contract to Gigaclear to roll out fibre broadband in certain areas including Norton. Cllr Russell noted that Gigaclear s charges were more than BT but their proposal was fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) rather than BT s fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) so speeds at least would be faster but at a price. Highways Definitive Map Cllr Russell advised that a map had been received from Highways (KierWSP) showing the extent of control Highways has over land adjacent to the actual roadway even if that land is privately owned. 45

Hedgerow-Weedon Lane Cllr Goodman asked that this item be included in the March agenda. Next meeting will be 21 March 2017 MEETING CLOSED 9.40PM Signed... Date... Chairman: Kim Russell 46